Star Crossed Lovers
by firnoviel
Summary: Usagi and Mamoru are enemies, and Usagi is comfortable with that. But what happens when they start developing feelings for one another? Please Review!
1. It Begins

Hi! Well, this is my first fanfic ever! Please review it and tell me what you think! And no, Usagi and Mamoru don't know each other's secret identities right now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the related characters. I wouldn't be writing this if I did!

Key: blah -Usagi thinking  
blah -flashbacks

Usagi turned and quickly walked down the street, her face burning with rage. How dare he mock me! He stops me in the street just so that he can mock me now?! That baka is gonna get what's coming to him one of these days! I can't be held responsible for my actions now!

"Hey, Usagi! Wait up!" Mamoru called.  
"What is it?" she snapped, not wanting to talk to this man who was constantly making fun of her.  
"Oh, I see. A little crabby, today, are we?" He teased, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"I was having a good day until you came along, thank you very much," she retorted.  
"Oh, were you? I'm so sorry, little Odango Atama. I didn't realize that you so hated me," he said, pulling a mock-sad face.  
"DON'T CALL ME ODANGO ATAMA, YOU BAKA!" she shouted.  
"Okay, Odango. Just as soon as you stop hating me," he laughed.  
She glowered angrily at him and stomped off to the sound of his laughter.

Upon recalling the memory of their recent meeting, Usagi started to cry. Why must I always be so mean to him? And why does he always have to taunt me?! I really would just like to be friends, but he just makes me angry! Why can't he be more like Tuxedo Kamen? The thought of the handsome masked man who always had a nack for saving Sailor Moon made her cry even harder. He was handsome, suave, debonaire, and kind. At least, she thought he was probably kind, although he had never actually spoken to her. He just rescued her and disappeared. But she had stared deeply into his beautiful stormy blue-purple eyes before, and she couldn't believe that they could hold any danger to her. Oh, sure, it wasn't that Mamoru wasn't good looking. Quite the contrary. He had the body of Adonis, a lovely face with beautiful high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw, gorgeous dark eyes, and the most beautiful silky black hair that came down to just above his eyes. The only problem with Mamoru, in fact, was the fact that he was a rude and inconsiterate baka. At least as far as Usagi was concerned. She shook her head to try and rid herself of these thoughts.

"Usagi! Hey, wait!" a familiar voice called. Usagi smiled when she heard it. Ami. She turned around.  
"Hey, Ami! What's up?" She greeted.  
"Have you been crying?" The blue haired girl asked immediately after looking at Usagi's face. Usagi's hands flew up to her cheeks.  
"Oh, it's just that baka Mamoru again. Honestly, Ami, that man is so frustrating!" Usagi confided.  
"You know, you two really should learn to get along."  
"I've tried! But he just has a nack for making me angry!" Along with weak in the knees  
"Oh well. We'd better hurry or we're going to be late!" Ami exclaimed, looking at her watch. The girls started to run, and barely made it to class before the bell rang.

Later that day...

"Odango! Hold on!" Not again...  
"Baka-san, I thought I told you to leave me alone," Usagi started.  
"I know, but I just want to apologize if I made you angry today," The handsome young man said. Usagi looked him in the eye. She kept looking. Then she realized she was staring. She quickly broke her gaze and spat, "You? Apologize? Since when have you been nice to me? I'm used to it, you know."  
"I know, and for that I'm sorry. I want to make it up to you. Would you let me take you out to dinner tonight? My treat. Anywhere you want to go," He winked. Usagi was stunned.  
"You want to take me out for dinner? Well, if you're paying, alright," She said, hesitantly.  
"Alright, I'll pick you up around 7 o'clock, okay? Later, Odango," He smiled and quickly walked away before she could yell at him for calling her by her most hated nickname.

Mamoru asked me out to dinner! What's gotten into him? I don't remember him ever being nice to me! Is this some sort of trick? If it is...he's gonna be in pain. Oh well. At least he's paying!

"You know, Mamoru, maybe you should try being nice to Usagi once in a while," Motoki chided.  
"But it's so much fun to see her angry! Besides, she always calls me a baka. I'm in college with a 4.0!" Mamoru replied.  
"Well maybe she just calls you that because you call her Odango Atama."  
"Yes, that would be logical. But she's so cute when she's mad," Mamoru laughed.  
"Sounds like you've got a crush, Mamoru," Motoki smiled at his friend.  
"Oh, come on, Motoki. Me? Have a crush on Usagi? She's only 16!" Mamoru's face went white at the thought.  
"Alright, alright! I was only joking!" Motoki put his hands up in defense.  
That was a close one, Mamoru thought, but he's right. I do have a crush on her. She's beautiful! With those gorgeous ice blue eyes and satiny golden hair...Whoops! I'm drooling...

What did you think? I'm gonna add more really soon! Please review this, though! I really hope you liked it! well, thank you, and see you soon!


	2. The Date

here's the next bit! hope you like it. as always, any feedback is welcome:)

When Mamoru arrived at the Tsukino residence promptly at 7 o'clock, he was dressed in a sharp black sports coat with nice khaki pants and a dark blue cardigan that complimented his eyes perfectly. As he went to ring the doorbell he realized that his hand was shaking. Oh my gosh! he thought, I'm actually nervous about this! This is crazy. I can't believe I'm actually taking Odango out to supper. I can't believe she agreed to go!  
Mrs. Tsukino answered the door, and upon seeing Mamoru, raised a curious, yet approving, eyebrow.  
"Hold on," she said,"I'll go get Usagi for you. She's been digging through her closet, and I'd really rather not have you get lost in that pit she calls a room trying to find her." And with that, she left Mamoru to wait.  
He had been there for about 5 minutes before Usagi came down the stairs. At first, all he could do was stare at her beautiful figure. She was wearing a knee-length royal blue silk dress with spaghetti straps. It was very fitted through the bodice and flaired gently away from her body at the waist. Her hair, which was normally in two little buns with pigtails was now in a long, loose, silky french braid. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires and her long lashes curled gently away from them. On her feet she had 4-inch strappy black heels that must have been killing her.  
Usagi had to clear her throat to get Mamoru to stop staring. He jumped and blinked a few times before smiling and offering her his arm. She took it gratefully, because she didn't know how well she could walk in her heels.  
When they got out to his black BMW, he opened the passenger door and helped her in.  
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, after he had started the car and they were on their way.  
"I'm not allowed to be nice to you?" he responded, trying to sound innocent and slightly hurt at her questioning of his motives.  
"Why do you always respond with a question?" she countered.  
"Alright! Enough with the questions!" he laughed, "I would like to make a fresh start. I'm trying to be friends with you, Usagi. If you'll let me, anyway," this time he was serious.  
Usagi was slightly taken aback at the seriousness of this statement.  
"Oh. Uh, alright, then. Well, if you want to be my friend, you have to stop calling me Odango Atama! And don't make fun of me anymore!"  
"Oh, come on Usagi. You know that's just a pet name, kinda like how I know when you call me a baka that it's just a sorta pet name that you have for me," he smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. He was shocked at just how smooth her skin was. He quickly moved his hand so that he didn't get too used to the feel of her skin.  
She grinned, "yeah, I suppose, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it! So it's only under protest, and if anyone else calls me that, I'm gonna kill you!"  
"Okay, okay, settle down, Chibi Odango," he laughed.

A few minutes later, they pulled up at La Chateau, the best French restaurant in Tokyo.  
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Usagi exclaimed.  
"I'm assuming that means you like La Chateau?" Mamoru laughed.  
"This is like, the _best_ restaurant in town! It's my favorite! How did you know?!" she babbled.  
"Let's just say a little birdy told me," he chuckled, thinking back to how wide Minako's eyes had gotten when he'd explained the situation and asked what Usagi's favorite restaurant was.  
They ended up having a lovely dinner and a very easy-flowing, congenial conversation.  
After dinner, though, Mamoru had a suprise for Usagi.

"Okay, I'm going to blindfold you to get to this next place, okay?" he told her.  
"Alright," she agreed, intrigued.  
He tied a black silk handkerchief over her eyes. They drove for what seemed like ages before he finally stopped and helped her out of the car.  
"Can I take this off now?" she said, indicating the blindfold.  
"Not just yet, we're going for a little walk. But don't worry, I'll help you," he added quickly, sensing that she was uncomfortable with walking around blindfolded.  
They walked for a little ways and by this point, Usagi's feet were killing her. Mamoru noticed that she was limping.  
"Do you want to take your shoes off?" he asked.  
"No, no, I'm fine. My feet just hurt a bit," she quickly brushed off his questioning. Then she fell.  
"Ouch! I think I just rolled my ankle!" she whimpered.  
"Okay, that does it, you're not walking any more," he stated, and with that he picked her up as though she weighed no more than a bunny, and carried her. At first she was tense, but he was warm, and smelled of roses, so she quickly relaxed against his strong chest.  
"Alright, here we are!" he said, setting her on a bench and taking off her blindfold.  
She blinked in the starlight and then gasped at the site before her. They were in a park on a hill a few miles outside of Tokyo where they could see the lights of the city, but the stars also twinkled brightly overhead. But most impressive was the full moon that was right overhead. It was so large that it looked like you could reach out and touch it.  
"I thought you might like this," he whispered.  
"Oh, I do, I do! You have no idea! This is sooo sweet!" she whispered back, still in awe of the beauty around her. But Mamoru was only looking at the beauty right in front of him.  
"Usagi, may I ask you something?" he said hesitantly.  
"Of course. What is it?" she asked, still looking at the moon.  
"May I kiss you?" he said it so quietly that she almost thought she didn't hear him correctly. But she knew that wasn't it, because when it came to stuff like that, she was a romance buff.  
Her eyes turned away from the moon, and she fixed an intense stare into his blue-purple eyes. "Yes," was all that she could manage. He sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. Then, he slowly lowered his mouth onto hers and kissed her, lightly at first, but the longer they kissed, the more passionate it became. When he finally sat back, both their breathing was ragged, and if it hadn't been night, Usagi would have sworn she was seeing stars. Mamoru thought the world was spinning.  
Wow. Did that really just happen? Did I really just get my first kiss from Mamoru? Oh, I really hope this isn't a dream, because if it is, I never want to wake up!  
Just then, Mamoru glanced at his watch.  
"I guess I should be taking you back home," he said, slowly.  
"I guess so," she said, starting to stand up. Then she realized that she was supposed to have twisted her ankle. It didn't hurt anymore, but she really liked how it felt to be in his arms.  
"Oh! My ankle!" she said, sitting back on the bench and clutching her ankle.  
"Here, I'll carry you back to the car," he offered, and quickly whisked her away in his arms. She smiled and leaned against his chest again.  
She must have fallen asleep like that, too, because she didn't remember anything from the car ride, and he was nudging her when the arrived at her house.  
"Are we here already? Oh," she said, disappointed, "Well, I guess this is good night."  
"I'll walk you up to your front door," he said, and jumped out to get the car door for her. Always the gentleman, now, I see.  
When they got to the door, he again leaned over and lightly brushed his lips against hers.  
"Good night, my princess," he whispered into her hair. Princess? Where'd that come from? He couldn't possibly know who I really am, could he? Nah.  
"Good night. And thank you for the wonderful evening, Mamu-chan," she sighed, blushing slightly. Mamu-chan?! Hehe, I better be more careful of what I say.  
They stood there in each other's armsfor a few more minutes, and then he left, and Usagi went into the house, with a bittersweet feeling of being happy about what had just happened, and sad that it was now over.

okay, that's all i've got for now. i really hope you liked it! i had fun writing it:) and honestly, i've never been kissed. so i won't have any french kissing or anything in these, because i don't know what that's like. i'm pretty much just basing the whole kiss stuff off of other various romance stuff that i've read before.


	3. The Girls

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, yadda yadda yadda

Usagi went to bed that night on a cloud. She could do nothing but smile dreamily at everyone, and when Luna asked her where she had been for so long, she just laughed and replied, "living in a dream, Luna, an absolute dream!"

The girls at school couldn't figure it out, and her teachers were getting angry because she was ignoring the lessons more than usual.

"Usagi, what's up with you today?" Makoto finally asked during home economics.

"Oh, Makoto, I had the most wonderful night last night," Usagi sighed happily.

"Oh, really?" Makoto said, going into gossip mode, "What happened? Did you go on a date?! With who?!?!" She questioned, getting more excited with each exclamation mark.

"Mamoru," was Usagi's simple reply. Makoto was stunned.

"B-bu-but, you hate Mamoru!!! Why did you go on a date with him?!?! Oh, you have to tell me everything, every detail, no matter how small may be overlooked! Tell me about it!" Usagi smiled at her friend's eagerness to invade every aspect of her personal life. She then proceeded to tell Makoto every little detail of the night down to the very last kiss and embrace. Makoto was practically in tears at the end.

"That was the most beautiful thing sniff that I've ever heard!" she sobbed into her handkerchief. Just then, the bell rang, and they gathered their books and went to their lockers to meet with the others.

"Hey, I finally got her to tell me what's up!" Makoto yelled above the din of fellow students rushing to leave school for the day, "And wait till you hear it! No wonder she's been on Cloud Nine all day!" she added, to Usagi's utter embarrassment.

Kirei Hoshiko, or Hoshi as the other girls called her, walked casually over to Usagi and put her arm around her.

"It sounds like you've got quite the story to tell us all! How about we go to the arcade, get some burgers and shakes, and you tell everyone so that Makoto will finally shut up?" she bribed Usagi with her favorite thing: food.

"Alright, deal! I'll be right back, I just have to put my books in my locker!" she shouted over her shoulder as she pushed her way against the flow of traffic to get to her locker.

Once the girls arrived at the arcade, they took their favorite seat in the corner booth. After they had ordered their food and drinks from the always happy Motoki, all the girls looked at Usagi expectantly.

"Well?" Hoshiko demanded.

"Well, what?" Usagi looked confused.

"What happened last night with you and Mamoru?!" Minako blurted.

"WHAT?!? MAMORU?!?! WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH HIM?!?!?!" Ami, Hoshiko, and Rei all cried in unison.

"Oh, that. We went out to dinner and then for a drive and a walk. It was all very pleasant," Usagi stated simply. She knew that they wanted the details, but she was having fun teasing them. Ami just about fell out of her seat when she said it.

"That's it? You had a 'very pleasant' time?! That's all you're going to tell us?!? What happened at dinner?!?! What happened on the drive?!?!? _What happened during the walk_?!?!?! DID HE KISS YOU?!?!?!? _WHAT IS SO FUNNY, USAGI_?!?!?!?!?!" Ami was about to have a fit if Usagi didn't spill her guts right then and there. And quite frankly, Usagi thought it was funny, because she'd never seen Ami get so worked up about anything in her life.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you all the details!" Usagi finally gave up at the look on Ami's enraged face. All the other senshi were cowering around her because they didn't want to incur the terrible wrath of Ami. And with that, Usagi told them about the entire date, interrupted with the occasional 'Ohmygosh!', 'Hedidwhat?!', 'Andyoudidwhat?!?', 'Whathappenednext?!', and the ever popular, 'Ohmygoshyou'rekidding!!'. When she was finally done, the girls all just stared at her. Mokoto and Minako were both sobbing into their handkerchiefs.

"That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!" Minako cried.

"I know, I know! I only wish it would happen to me!" Makoto sniffed.

Rei just shook her head at the silliness of the other senshi. The only other sound other than Minako and Makoto was the merry little bell above the arcade entrance that jangled whenever someone entered or exited.

A shadow fell over their booth. All the girls looked up in unison, and in unison, they all squealed with excitement.

"MAMORU!!"

Usagi just blushed, and Mamoru grinned.

"Well, I guess judging by that little greeting, you all found out about last night somehow. I was just stopping by to talk to Motoki, and I saw you lovely ladies all sitting over here and decided to say hello. I suppose I'd better go find Motoki, though. Continue on with whatever you were doing, ladies," he smiled his most attractive smile, and Makoto and Minako thought they were going to faint for joy.

"Oh, Usagi, how did you ever manage to get such a handsome man?" Minako exclaimed. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, Usagi noticed. She merely blushed at the comment.

"He's not mine, Minako. He just wanted to be nice to me! We're friends now, I suppose," she responded.

"Those kisses that you described don't sound like anything a friend would do to me! Psh! Well, I hope none of you would kiss me like that!" Minako said, as she was pelted with books and purses and whatever else the other girls could get thier hands on. Just then, they all heard a scream, and someone cried, "Youma!".

The girls all looked at each other, nodded, and raced out of the arcade into a back alley. They didn't notice Mamoru go out the back exit.

After transforming into Sailors Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Nebula (Hoshiko), they all ran in the direction of the scream.

Bwahahahahaha! My first cliff hanger! Well, sorta. I dunno. Anyway, review, and tell me if you liked it, hated it, what I could do for future chapters, whatever. I really hope you like it! And I apologize that all the chapters are so short, I just have a terrible time coming up with anything else! And to anyone who's wondering, this will be a pretty long story, I hope, but the more you review, the sooner I'll put stuff up! And yes, I'll probably end up being one of those hated writers who doesn't update for long periods of time. I'm a busy person! but I write whenever I get the chance, and I put stuff up as soon as I think it's long enough.


	4. The Attack and What Followed

Okay, I'm not gonna be mean and make you wait long to see what happens. Here's the next installment. And thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far! Your comments have been very nice. To everyone else: Please review! I care about your opinion, and the more you review, the sooner the next chapters come out.

The girls rushed over to the park, the source of the scream, and arrived just in time to see a youma drop the limp form of a young girl. It rounded on them, and they saw that it looked like a dryad with glowing red eyes and when it hissed, they saw its gruesome fangs.

Immediately the girls sprang into action, with Mars and Mercury drawing it's attention, Nebula rescuing the fallen girl, and Jupiter, Venus, and Sailor Moon left to observe Mars and Mercury to determine what would hurt it and what wouldn't.

They realized that they wouldn't be able to do that for long, though, because the youma was tossing Mars and Mercury like they were matchsticks and avoiding every single one of their attacks.

"Okay, we have to think of something, fast!" Sailor Moon said to the others once Nebula got back.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Jupiter scoffed.

"Do you have any bright ideas, genius?" Venus growled.

"Ladies, calm down. Alright, Jupiter, Venus, try to help Mars and Mercury keep it in one spot long enough for Nebula and me to get a really good attack on it. Nebula, you go to one side, and I'll go to the other. that way, it can't see us both, and it'll only be able to dodge one of our attacks," Hopefully Sailor Moon said.

"Alright," Nebula agreed.

Venus and Jupiter rushed off and started attacking the youma, and it was starting to seem overwhelmed by the sheer number of the senshi. But it certainly wasn't cowed yet. It started throwing out attacks at the senshi, and they were having trouble dodging them. It would throw long thorns at them, and whip them with sharp vines that left long gashes wherever it hit, as Sailors Mercury and Jupiter could testify from experience.

Sailor Moon ran to a little covered area a few yards away from the action, and Nebula did the same on the opposite side. They were searching for the right time to attack the youma, but it was moving too quickly. Sailor Moon decided to go for it, and stood up where she was.

"Moon Tiara Action!" she cried, and sent her tiara flying at the youma. Unfortunately, she was too slow in her attack. As soon as she stood up, the youma was aware of her presence, and it turned to her, releasing a volley of dangerous thorns. She tried to dodge to the left, but she was hit in the right shoulder and another one scraped her side. Her tiara had only scratched the youma, because it had dodged to the side as it went by. Sailor Moon blacked out as she was picked up in strong arms and leaned against a chest that smelled faintly of roses.

"Where am I?" Usagi asked, when she regained consciousness.

"Stay there. And don't squirm. Those are nasty wounds on your shoulder and side, but you'll live," a familiar voice said.

"Okay, but answer my question. Where am I?" Usagi repeated again, starting to get irritated.

"You're in my room at the shrine," Rei said, entering the room.

"Oh. Who's in there? I could have sworn I just heard a man's voice..." Usagi started.

"It was probably just Grandfather. He has been taking care of your wounds. But Tuxedo Kamen brought you here. He was just in time! That youma was coming to get you. But he swooped in at the last second and grabbed you. It was all very romantic. But it's a good thing that Nebula let off her attack when she did. The youma just couldn't stand up to the destructive power of Nebula. She's out back planting the seed from it's ashes," Rei babbled. Tuxedo Kamen saved me? But...he seemed so familiar...and I don't know why! It's not like I've ever met Tuxedo Kamen before long enough to get to know him...have I?

Just as that disturbing thought entered her head, Mamoru rushed into the room.

"Oh my gosh, Usagi! I just heard that you were hurt! What happened?" his voice was filled with concern, as were his beautiful eyes. Those eyes...

"No, no, I'm fine...what happened you ask? Well..." She looked questioningly at Rei. What should I tell him? Certainly not the truth!

As if reading her mind, Rei responded, "Oh, she was climbing a tree and she slipped. When she fell she ended up getting her shoulder impaled on one branch and scratched on another. She'll be right as rain in a few days, though," Rei smiled, hoping he would believe her. The look in his eyes told her that she didn't, but he didn't say anything.

"Really? Well, that's too bad. You really should be more careful, Odango," he said, winking roguishly at Usagi. She glared and threw a pillow at him.

"Well, I guess that proves that she's feeling better already!" He laughed, "but I need to be off. I have some business to take care of."

And with that, he left.

When the girls took her home, Usagi's mother was worried, as any mother would be.

"Oh, where have you been? What happened?! Are you alright?!" She was practically hysterical when she saw the bandage on Usagi's shoulder.

"I'm fine Mom, I just fell out of a tree and hurt myself. I'll be okay," Usagi tried to reassure her mother.

"I'm never going to let you climb another tree ever again! Never Never Never! Oh, Usagi, you really should call me if you get hurt!"

"Well, I would if you would give me a cell phone," Usagi never lost the opportunity to try to get a phone from her mother.

"Hmm...I'll have to think about it. Talk to your father," was all her mother said. And, apparently satisfied with her dear daughter's answer, she left.

Wow, okay that was weird. What's up with Mom? She's acting like an airhead. Oh well. She's just worried, I guess.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Luna screeched when Usagi entered her room.

"Nice to see you, too, Luna. And I'll have you know that I was injured fighting evil, as always," Usagi snapped. She was getting tired.

"Oh, my! How badly were you hurt? What happened? Did you destroy the youma?"

"Please, Luna. One question at a time. If I were badly hurt, would I be standing here in front of you, or in a hospital bed? The youma was destroyed. I'm not quite sure what happened. Ask Ami or Rei or someone. They didn't black out. At least I don't think they did...I was unconscious and being rescued by Tuxedo Kamen," she sighed happily when she said his name. She'd always had a crush on him. What girl wouldn't? He was tall, dark, and handsome! The epitome or gorgeousness, suave, and he dressed like a gentleman. Any girl's heart would go pitter-pat just at the sight of him, and Usagi acted just like any other girl when she wasn't saving the world from evil.

"Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed. I'll talk to you in the morning, Luna," she yawned.

"Good night, Usagi. Sleep well," Luna responded, but her mind was preoccupied with what Usagi had said about being rescued by Tuxedo Kamen.

I think I need to do some investigating on this Tuxedo Kamen fellow, Luna thought, as she quietly slipped out Usagi's open window to find one of the other Senshi for more information.

Well, what did you think? I really hope you liked it! I had writer's block at the end, so I'm not really sure if it's any good or not. But at least it's not really a cliff hanger. Okay, well, please review! and I'm going to put up a word list, possibly, with the Japanese words that I use. Okay, I'll try to write another chapter this weekend. Review, please! Thank you for reading!


	5. Trouble in the Night

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I've been really busy, and I haven't had much time to write. It also took me a while to get any inspiration, but it's finally done! Oh, and I made up Sailor Nebula, so yeah. Her name is Kirei Hoshiko, or just Hoshiko. She's pretty cool, I think. Oh, her weapon is a diamond-bladed scythe (like the grim reaper). Anyway...

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon! I did make up this Sailor Nebula, but there are other variations on her out there. Otherwise, I don't own any of the other characters!

Luna was out the window and on the sidewalk in an instant. She hurried quickly and quietly down the street until she got to Ami's house.

"Ami! Ami, are you here?" she hissed when she arrived at Ami's window. Pretty soon she saw movement.

"Oh, who's there?" Ami questioned the night groggily.

"Ami! It's me, Luna. I need to talk to you," Luna said as she hopped into Ami's room from the ledge.

"What is it? And do you have to talk now? I mean, it is really late..." It was obvious Ami was tired.

"I wanted to find out about the battle today. Usagi was a terrible source. She was crabby and since she was knocked unconscious she didn't know what happened later. So I came to you because I know you pay such close attention to detail and you have an analytical mind which comes in handy a lot," Luna was quick to respond, and Ami couldn't deny it.

"Well, we were at the Arcade when we heard a scream. Of course we all took off running, and the sound was coming from the park. It turned out to be a youma torturing a girl. As soon as it saw us it dropped her, and we rescued the girl so that she wouldn't be getting in the way, and the youma couldn't get her again. I was helping distract the youma while Usagi and Hoshiko tried to come up with a plan, but all the attacks that we threw at it, it merely dodged or deflected. Finally, Usagi and Hoshiko seemed to come up with a plan and they went around to opposited sides of the monster. Usagi stood up and tried to throw an attack at the thing, but it managed to avoid it, and only got a cut. It threw Usagi to the ground and she was knocked unconscious. Fortunately, Tuxedo Kamen showed up and took Usagi away before it could hurt her anymore, and while it was busy with that, Hoshiko stood up with her Diamond Scythe and sliced it in half, successfully killing it," Ami finished her description of the battle.

"Where did Tuxedo Kamen take Usagi?" Luna immediately questioned.

"He took her to Rei's temple, because he figured that would be the safest place. He left her there when we showed up. A few minutes later, Mamoru came because Rei called him. That's about all that happened," Ami said, truthfully.

"Well, thank you, Ami, you've been most helpful. It seems that Hoshiko is going to be a very useful member of the Sailor Senshi, eh? That Diamond Scythe of hers always scares me, though! It makes me feel like someone just walked over my grave, every time I see it! Well, I must be going," Luna said as she leapt out the still-open window.

"Good night, Luna," Ami called gently, before going to bed.

Back in Usagi's bedroom...

Usagi was suddenly jolted from her sleep by a piercing scream.

Haven't there been enough of those today? Oh well, call of duty, I guess. Literally.

She jumped out of bed and climbed out her window. Once in the street below, she began to run. Quickly, she ducked into a side alley and transformed before popping back out again and continuing to run.

Who's bright idea was it, anyway, for us to have these horrible short skirts and heels? They're an absolute pain to run in, and I'm constantly having to hold down my skirt! Urgh! Luna's gonna get an earful when I get home...

Finally, she arrived at the source of the noise. But there was no youma. Instead, there was a gang of evil looking men surrounding a young girl. The sight of them and the idea of what was probably about to happen made Usagi sick to her stomach.

"Stop! Step away from the girl now or you will regret it!" she shouted. The men looked, sniggered, and left the girl. But to Usagi's dismay, they were coming at her, instead.

"We-ell, now. Looky here, boys, at the tart in the mini skirt! She looks like she'll be more fun than that other little drip over there," the man who apparently was the leader snickered contemptuously as he ran his eyes up and down Usagi's well conformed body. She felt like she had been defiled simply by having him look at her.

"Stay where you are! Don't you dare touch me, or I will seriously hurt you! Don't think I can't!" Usagi tried to sound confidant, but her voice and hands shook. When the men didn't stop, she started to take the tiara from her forehead.

"Moon Tiara Action!" she cried as she threw the tiara at the leader. He was only a few feet away now.

The tiara hit the man in the arm, and he fell to the ground clutching the gash on his bicep. However, this only enraged the other men more, and they came at her and started to reach for her. She fell to the ground, terrified. She knew these men could easily have their way with her and then kill her, and the idea scared her senseless.

Suddenly, a red blur cut one of the men on the cheek, and landed in front of her. It was a single beautiful rose. She looked up, and there, outlined against the full moon, was Tuxedo Kamen. Had she not been so delirious with fear, she would have cried for joy. He jumped down from the wall he was standing on and started advancing towards the men.

"Oh, look at the scary masked man in his fancy-schmancy evening wear!" one man taunted.

"If you don't step away from the lady right now, I will be forced to become violent, and believe me, you don't want that," Kamen replied coolly.

"Oh, yeah? You gonna hurt us Mr. Fancypants? You and what army? Hate to break it to ya, bud, but there's 5 of us and one of you. You're a smart boy, you do the math," and with that, the men continued to molest Sailor Moon.

That's when Tuxedo Kamen snapped. He raced towards the men and started beating them fiercely. He managed to knock two of them unconscious and was starting in on a third before the others finally came away from Sailor Moon to help in the fight. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he hoped he could keep them away from her.

"Sailor Moon! RUN!" He yelled as the men attacked him. She just sat there and gave him a blank, terrified look.

He punched one man in the stomach, kneed another, and punched the last one so hard he crumpled up like paper. Tuxedo Kamen ran over to Sailor Moon, picked her up, and started running as fast as he could away from the men so that they would be far away when all the men recovered. Fortunately, the other girl who had been there had regained conciousness and quietly slipped away, so he didn't have to worry about her.

As Sailor Moon started to regain some of her senses, she quickly started trying to push away from Tuxedo Kamen. She was now terrified of strange men, and she didn't really know anything about Tuxedo Kamen. For all she knew, he could be as bad as those others.

Tuxedo Kamen only took a second to figure out why she was resisting him, and he immediately put her down. She was going to try to run away, but he gently took hold of her wrist.

"Sailor Moon, please. Please promise me you won't go out alone at night anymore! For your own safety," he pleaded. She was suprised by how concerned he sounded. She silently nodded her head and ran off into the night.

How was that? was it okay? too long? not very good? please tell me! review review review! even if you have to flame me, just review it, please. thanks so much for reading!


	6. Change of Heart

Hi again! I got this chapter up pretty quick:) It's a weekend, though, so I've got more time to work. Well, I think the story is getting a bit darker, and if there are any younger readers here, please read with discression. Anyway, yeah, this story is a bit like 'The Coldest December', which is my favorite Usagi/Mamoru fic (it was the first one I ever read). So yeah, if you've ever read that one, you may see some parallels, but I swear I'm not copying it! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this so far! It means a lot to me! Everyone else, please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, if you haven't figured that out yet.

As she ran home, Usagi kept running over what had happened in her mind. She quietly slipped into a half-lit alley and detransformed before continuing home. When she finally climbed back in the window, she fell across her bed and started to sob silently.

Why me? Oh, why couldn't it have been a youma? At least I would have some general idea of what to do against it! Why oh why? What have I ever done to deserve this? Is God trying to punish me? What did I do? I was trying to save that girl and instead I become the victim! I don't think I could ever trust another man. What if this happens again? Oh, no! It just can't! I think I'd die before I let that happen!

Just then, Usagi realized she wasn't alone. Luna was sitting on the chair next to her bed, staring at her.

"Usagi, where have you been? And why are you crying? What's happened?" Luna sounded concerned.

"Oh, Luna, it's terrible! I heard someone scream, and I went to investigate-"

"Alone?"

"Well, yes, there was no one around for me to call! Well, I went, and there was a group of men assaulting a young girl, and I tried to rescue her, but they turned on me and..." Usagi's voice trailed off as she started to cry again. Luna jumped over to the bed and crossed to Usagi.

"Oh, my! Did they touch you? Were you hurt? What happened? How did you escape?" Luna bombarded Usagi with questions.

"No, they didn't hurt me, but I'm afraid that they would have..._raped_...me if-" she said quietly, and then started to cry more.

"If what? What happened?" Luna asked gently.

"If Tuxedo Kamen hadn't come along and rescued me at the last second. He beat them off and carried me away because I was in shock. But then I got scared and ran from him. He made me promise I would never go out alone at night again," she said, remembering her silent promise. "Oh, Luna, I don't think I'll ever trust another man again!"

"Tuxedo Kamen saved you? Well, according to Ami, that would make it the second time today! I wouldn't blame you for not trusting men anymore, but I wouldn't be so quick to distrust Tuxedo Kamen. I believe that he's our ally. Why else would he always fight with us and constantly save you?"

Usagi thought about this for a little while before saying, "you're right, Luna. I will continue to trust him, but not any other man besides my father, brother, and Motoki, since he's like a brother. But I won't trust anyone else!"

And with that, she lay down and went to sleep.

The next day at school, Usagi quietly told the other girls what happened. They all were horrified and agreed with what Luna had said about men. They also decided that they would assign themselves all nights when they would be 'on call' to go out at night with Usagi. Ami took Mondays, Rei had Tuesdays, Mokoto Wednesdays, Minako Thursdays, Hoshiko Fridays, and they would alternate on weekends.

After school, Usagi went outside and found Mamoru waiting for her. She walked straight past him without even saying 'hello'. Naturally, he felt something was wrong, so he followed her. This freaked her out because of what had happened the previous night, and she started to run. However, she couldn't out-sprint him, because he had been a track star in high school, and an excellent sprinter. He easily caught her by the wrist, and she whirled around and slapped him across the face.

"Usagi, what's wrong? Why are you mad at me? I thought we had fun the other night. What's happened?" he asked, shocked, and a little hurt at her treatment of him.

"You wanna know what happened? You really _want_ to know? Oh, gosh!" She broke down sobbing again at the thought of it.

"What did you do to her?!" Rei yelled as she ran up.

"Me? I didn't do anything! she just broke down sobbing when I asked her what was wrong and why she was mad at me!" Mamoru yelled back. He was getting frustrated at this point.

Rei's expression softened a little bit at this.

"Mamoru, you're going to have to give her some space for a while. She had a rough experience last night, and she's not feeling to well currently," Rei said in a voice that told him she wasn't going to go into more detail.

"Oh, alright. I understand. Well, okay. I guess...I'll just leave now," and with that, he was gone.

"Oh, Rei!" Usagi cried, "He chased me down, and when he grabbed my wrist, I just snapped! I thought about last night and what could have happened, and I freaked! I just can't trust any guy now! Not even Mamoru..." she sniffed. When she thought about that passionate kiss they had shared, she just got even more sad. It had been so beautiful. She had been so innocent. But now there was a shadow tainting her memory of that perfect kiss. She would never be the same, now. Tuxedo Kamen was the only man she could possibly trust.

What did you think? Quite a change from how the story started, right? Well, I hope you like it so far! Please review! The more reviews I get, the sooner the next chapter will come out, even if it's a bunch of flame reviews.


	7. The Phone Call

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this so far! Bunnybunny, thank you for telling me your honest opinion, and I hope you like this chapter better:) To anyone that hasn't figured it out, I'm making this whole story up as I go, and I don't know what will happen, how long it will be or how it will end (it will be happy, though, I promise). So any suggestions anyone has, I will definitely appreciate, because other peoples ideas may help prevent me from getting too much writers block. And I just looked through all the stories the way that you guys would read them, and I noticed that the symbols for when Usagi is thinking and flashbacks don't work! I'm mad! Her thoughts are supposed to be in tildes (the little swoosh thing that goes over the letter 'n' occasionally in Spanish) and asterices for the flashbacks. I'm soo sorry guys! I hope it hasn't been too confusing! Anywhoo...

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Do I really still have to tell you this?

New Key

'.'blah'.'-dreams

.:.:blah:.:.-Usagi's thoughts

That night, Ami and Hoshi came over to Usagi's house to watch a movie and talk.

"You know, Usagi, maybe you're being a little harsh on guys for this. I mean, this was all a terrible thing that's happened to you, but if you decide to hate all men, that's extremely prejudiced. I wouldn't recommend it, because you and I both know that there are a lot of really nice, caring guys out there that would never think of doing anything so attrocious to any lady" Hoshi said when they were in Usagi's room.

"You know, she's right, Usagi. And I know that Mamoru was extremely hurt today when you ran from him and then slapped him when he was only trying to be nice. I think Mamoru cares for you more than you know. Have you thought that maybe you should see a psychiatrist about what happened? A psychiatrist could probably help you sort out your feelings" Ami added.

"Why are you guys telling me this? Don't you think I feel terrible about having to be mean to Mamoru? I hate it! But I don't know who to trust right now, and until I can figure it out, I need my space" Usagi replied.

"Well, maybe you should try talking to Mamoru. It may help you build your trust in him if you just talk to him a bit. So long as you want us, one of us can always be with you while you talk to him, if you like" Hoshi suggested.

"I don't know. For now, I just need a little time to get over it. Would that be alright? Just a couple weeks, maybe, when I can hopefully look back on it and not be terrified" Usagi pleaded.

"Okay, Usagi. We understand. Just tell us when, okay" Ami asked.

"Alright. Thanks guys. I'm starting to feel a little better now" Usagi said with a weak smile. Ami and Hoshi nodded and left.

Over at Rei's...

"Grandpa! The phone is ringing" Rei yelled. She had been taking a nice relaxing bubble bath and didn't want to be disturbed, but it didn't appear that the old man was anywhere around. grumbling she got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around herself, and went to answer the phone.

"Hello" she answered, sounding slightly miffed.

"Rei? Hey, this is Mamoru. Can I talk to you about Usagi? Please" Mamoru sounded stressed.

"About Usagi? Um, alright, I guess. What is it"

"Well, I was wondering if you knew why exactly she treated me like that today. Did I do something wrong that I didn't know about"

"Oh, that? Trust me, it's not your fault. Usagi had a run-in with some rough guys the other night, and she's pretty shaken up, but fortunately she wasn't hurt."

"Oh...my...gosh...it's all clicking now! Sorry, Rei, I gotta go. Thank you so much for the info, though! I really appreciate it" click.

"Gee, your welcome. Thanks for calling," Rei said sarcastically before getting back in the bath.

Okay, I know that was really really really really short, but that's because the next bit would be unusually long and so I'm gonna make it it's own chapter.


	8. Hello, Again

Okay, here's the next bit. It's taken a long time for me to write because I started out writing a dream sequence with Endymion and Serenity, but then I completely deleted it when it would have been one of my longest chapters and still not done. I restarted this, and hopefully it's better.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I've told you this several times!

Back at Usagi's that night...

"Luna, what should I do? I think that Ami and Hoshi are probably right. I overreacted about not trusting guys, and now Mamoru probably hates me for the way I treated him" Usagi's lower lip trembled at the thought of Mamoru thinking ill of her.

"Usagi, dear, you must believe that if he cares about you, he will forgive you. If he doesn't forgive you for something that simple, he obviously couldn't care too much" Luna reasoned wisely.

"I know, I know, it's just that" she was interrupted by the phone.

"Hello" she answered.

"Usagi, is that you" She could have jumped for joy at the voice on the other end.

"MAMO-(cough) I mean, Mamoru! Hello! Yes, this is Usagi" she beamed at the phone even though there was no way he could see her.

"Usagi, I need to speak to you. Are you busy right now"

"No, not at all, but it's a little late, isn't it"

"Yeah, probably, but the thing is" the doorbell rang.

"Hold on a sec, I have to get the door" Usagi covered the receiver and flew down the stairs. To her surprise, when she opened the door, there stood Mamoru.

"Mamoru! But how" she started, staring at the phone in her hand.

"I was talking to you on my cell phone, Odango" he smiled at her cluelessness, and she giggled at the once hated nickname. Oh, he doesn't hate me! she thought with delight (a/n-I'm not gonna use those stupid 'keys'. they annoy me and can't keep them straight). "Do you have somewhere where we can speak more privately" he questioned, peering over her head.

"Yes...we can sit in the garden! No one will hear us out there" she grinned happily at the thought of sitting with Mamoru among the beautiful, fragrant blossoms.

When they were situated on a wooden bench, Mamoru began.

"Look, Usagi, I have a confession to make"

"Wait, I need to say something, first" she interrupted. "Look, Mamoru, I know I was pretty harsh to you the other day, and I'd like to apologize. I had no right to behave the way I did. I was shaken up from an incident that occurred the night before, and the affects still hadn't worn off yet. But I'm better now, and I hope that you will forgive me. I never meant to offend or hurt you" She said.

"Forgive you? Oh! Don't worry, I was never mad at you in the first place! A little shocked and worried about you, but never angry. Now it's my turn to talk. What I have to say won't be easy for me, since I don't really know how to say it, but I will try my best. Usagi, I know you're"

"Help! Youma" Yet again, Mamoru was interrupted. But the sharp look of dismay that crossed Usagi's face in a flash didn't escape his notice.

"Let's go" he cried, standing up and offering her his hand. She looked surprised. "What, don't you want to go and help them? They're in trouble" Now it was his turn to look surprised at her. She gave him her hand, but also cast a strange look at him as he pulled her to her feet and dragged her behind him.

When they arrived on the scene, they saw the youma, a tall, glittering black beast with red eyes and teeth like razors. But that wasn't what shocked them most.

"Hoshi" Usagi cried when she saw the limp form in the beast's talon-like claws. Mamoru quickly spun her around.

"Transform, Usagi" he yelled, and, barely comprehending, she complied, in a mass of sparkling ribbons.

When she opened her eyes, Mamoru was gone, and Tuxedo Kamen was standing before her.

Okay, I dunno. What did you think? Am I redeeming myself for the terrible chapter 6? I hope that you like this one better! Please read and review! I've decided not to write more chapters until i get 5 reviews for the one that's out right now. Every time I reach 5, I will post another chapter. So when it says I have 22 reviews, there will be another chapter out shortly.


	9. Another Youma Fight

Okay, if I put this chapter up, that means that I must have gotten 22 reviews! Yay! The next chapter will be posted at 27 reviews. Please please please review, people! Even if it's flames! Well, I would prefer nice flames where you tell me what you didn't like and how I could improve it, but a review is a review! Anyway, I'll stop blabbering.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or anything else!

Usagi couldn't believe her eyes.

"You-you!" she stammered, unable to tell just how she felt about this new development.

"Sailor Moon, we can't discuss this right now! Your friend is in danger!" Tuxedo Kamen said firmly, but there was definitely a note of nervousness in his voice.

"You're right, but that doesn't get you off the hook," she said, turning to the business at hand.

Oh, what am I gonna do? She thought desperately. I've got to save Hoshi, first. Right. Okay, I can do this.

She turned and faced the youma. To her horror, Hoshi was a deathly white. Whiter than Usagi had ever seen any youma victim be before. She was really worried now, and completely forgot about Tuxedo Kamen.

"Hoshi!" she cried. She charged blindly at the youma, removing her tiara, and calling the activation words. She threw it, and it spun like a buzz saw straight towards the youma. To her shock, it just seemed to glance off the beast. Before she knew what was happening, it was spinning straight towards her.

Her eyes got big as realization dawned, but when she thought she was gonna get hit by her own tiara, she was suddenly on the ground. She looked up and saw Sailor Jupiter had shoved her down.

"Sailor Jupiter! Don't try to attack it, it has an invisible shield around it!" she cried when she saw Sailor Jupiter go in for the attack. Jupiter pulled up sharply, but she was close enough for the youma to strike a blow. Jupiter was knocked unconscious.

"Noo! Jupiter" she screamed. "Alright, it's time to get serious."

Hmm...it seems impervious to my tiara, but what about a physical attack? Maybe I could tackle it and take it down!

Just as she was about to try, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"No, you don't know if it will work," she heard a gentle, deep voice say, "let me try."

She saw Tuxedo Kamen run past her, and straight at the youma. He was almost to the youma when it opened its dreadful mouth and blasted a nasty black goop at his face. He fell to the ground, clutching at his eyes.

"No!" she cried, as her heart jumped to her throat.

That does it! She thought, hmm...maybe I should try the stealthy approach.

With that, she melted into the shadows, and try though it might, the youma could not see her. She watched it from the shadows, saw it turning this way and that, trying to find her. She saw Tuxedo Kamen laying still on the ground, still holding his eyes, and Sailor Jupiter laying unconscious a few feet away. But she didn't see Hoshi anywhere.

As she was flitting along, a hand slid over her mouth and another one around both arms and her waist. A quiet voice whispered in her frightened ear.

"Don't yell, Sailor Moon. It's alright. It's me, Sailor Nebula. We've got to think of a plan," Hoshi whispered, letting her go.

"Gosh! Don't do that, Nebula! You nearly scared me to death!" Sailor Moon hissed back.

"Sorry. Okay, this is what I was thinking. That thing seems able to anticipate attacks. But maybe we can do what we did last time where one of us distracts it while the other attacks. It could work," Nebula didn't sound too hopeful.

"Well, it's impervious to attacks with weapons. It seems to have some sort of invisible shield around it. But I was going to try physically attacking it. Maybe if we could draw it closer to the trees, we could both attack it at the same time before it has the chance to counter-attack! If we're powerful and forceful enough, we could just take it down."

"Okay, let's try. We'll have to pop in and out of sight in the trees, though, and draw it close. Time to imitate Whack-a-Mole!" Hoshi giggled, even though the situation was very serious.

They started to weave in and out of the clearing, and the youma was immediately drawn closer. Their plan was going better than they had expected. That is, until the youma actually came into the trees.

"Crap! What are we gonna do, now?" Sailor Moon whispered to Nebula.

"Just relax. We'll have to lure it in by making noise. Then, we'll hid in two trees, and when it gets close, I'll give you a signal, and we'll swing down and kick it in the face and chest," Nebula said, sounding extremely cool and collected.

So they drew it in, and when it was close enough, Nebula gave the 'ok' sign to Sailor Moon. They swung forcefully out of their trees, and Nebula kicked it in the face, while Sailor Moon landed squarely on its chest. It crumpled to the ground with a sound wooshing sound as all the air was released from it. Nebula stood on it's chest, and with a flick of her wrist, made her scythe appear in her hand. She took it and harvested the creature's soul. It came up as a flickering little red light which she quickly grabbed and stuck in a little glass flask she carried with her everywhere.

Okay, that's the end of that chapter. Please read and review! I know, it wasn't that great, so feel free to flame. Thank you to those of you who have been faithfully reviewing! As soon as I get 27 reviews, I'll post the next chapter, so review, review, review! You've gotta remember that I'm making this whole thing up as I go with no prewriting or outlining or anything, so if there's some inconsistancies and dead end plot lines, I probably forgot about them. I rarely go back and read what I've already written. Anyway, please read and review!


	10. The Hospital

Hey, thanks for the reviews, guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but I get really bad writer's block, and sometimes I just need a break. I don't know how much longer I can keep writing this story, so I may have to wrap it up in the next couple chapters unless I get a lot of reviews telling me to keep writing. Okay, well, I'll stop boring you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

After watching Hoshi with interest, Sailor Moon remembered what was going on. She rushed over to Tuxedo Kamen's side, while Hoshi took care of Jupiter.

"Oh, Tuxedo Kamen! Are you alright? We've got to get you to a hospital! Please, you must detransform," she pleaded, forgetting all of his previous offenses.

At the sound of her voice he reached up and touched her face, running his hands over it as if to make a mental picture of who was talking.

Oh my gosh, she thought, he's blind! What am I gonna do! This is all my fault! If only I had attacked the youma instead of him, he'd still be able to see!

"Tuxedo Kamen, you must detransform! You have to get to the hospital, and fast! Maybe they can restore your eyesight!" she practically screamed with fright. But, sensing the urgency of the situation, he slowly reached inside his cape and took hold of a single red rose. And before she realized what was happening, it was no longer Tuxedo Kamen in her arms, but Mamoru.

"Oh, Mamu-chan, we must hurry! Can you stand?" she was relieved that he had detransformed for her, but she knew they still had to hurry. He slowly rose to his feet, but he had to lean heavily on her shoulders, which caused her to bend like a willow tree under his weight.

Slowly, she managed to get him to his car, and put him in the passenger's seat. She ran around the car, hopped into the driver's seat, buckled up and floored it.

Oh, I wish I knew how to get to the hospital! Think hard, Usagi...it's...this way! She thought, turning sharply right. Fortunately, she guessed correctly, and there was the hospital at the end of the street.

Oh, thank God! She thought, getting out and dragging Mamoru with her. She pulled him into the emergency room, and the receptionist gave them one look and ran off to find a doctor.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Mamoru, they're getting a doctor for you," she said comfortingly as she eased him into a chair.

Soon, a doctor motioned them into an examination room.

"How did this happen?" He asked after examining the strange material covering Mamoru's eyes.

"I don't know. I just found him like that on the ground in the park," she lied, hoping the doctor couldn't tell.

"Well, I'm afraid it's very serious. He could be blind forever unless..." the doctor trailed off.

"Unless what?" Usagi questioned, panic in her voice.

"Well, we've got an experimental procedure that we could try on him, but there's not guarantee that it would work or even help. But at this point, it's the only thing we could do. If you like, I'll give you a couple minutes alone with him to talk and decide what you would like to do from here," the doctor said, glancing at the blind Mamoru.

"Yes, I would like that, please."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes."

As soon as the doctor left, Mamoru beckoned Usagi over to him.

"Usagi, I want that procedure. I don't want to be blind for the rest of my life. Whatever the risks, I'm willing to do it, and I don't want any arguments from you or anyone else," Mamoru stated with such finality, that she didn't dare question him.

Oh no! She thought, he hates me! He thinks this is all my fault because he went blind trying to protect me! What have I done?

She started to sob silently, but he seemed to sense her discomfort.

"Usagi, what's wrong?" he quietly asked.

"You hate me!" she managed to sob out.

"Hate you? Why would I hate you? Usagi, I -mumff-" he couldn't finish his sentence because his mouth was covered by her shoulder when she threw herself, sobbing, at him in a giant bear hug.

"Mamoru, this-what's happened to you-it's all my fault, and I'm so sorry!" she cried.

"Usagi, what happened to me is no one's fault, and I don't want you to kick yourself about it. The doctor said it could be fixed by this proceedure. I want to try it. It can't be any worse than right now, could it? And if it works, thousands of blind people could possibly have the chance to see! That'd be great, wouldn't it? I don't mind being a guinea pig in this instance," he chuckled.

Usagi looked up at him and gave him a soggy smile, before hicupping.

There! I finally got this chapter out! I've been so insanely busy! Gosh, guys, I'm so sorry! Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, and I hope this one is okay...I wrote most of it one day, and got severe writers block and finished it about 2 weeks later. I'm gonna try to wrap up this story soon. Well, please review, and feel free to flame me for taking so long! Although it may take a bit for me to get the next chapter out again, too, because I'm really busy with school and stuff.


	11. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hey, I'm trying to get this out as fast as possible, but you can't rush art, right? Heh...right...Anyway...So, hopefully I can get this story wrapped up soon, but I have no idea how it's gonna end!

After they talked to the doctor and told him that Mamoru wanted to do the experimental treatment, Usagi drove Mamoru to his house.

"Mamoru, you know, since you can't drive now, I was wondering...can I use your car! I can drive you wherever you need to go, and I promise I'll be careful," she pleaded, making big puppy dog eyes at him. Then she realized he couldn't see, and settled for crooning pathetically for the car.

"Alright, alright! It's not like I can do much with it anyway," Mamoru chuckled.

"Thanks, Mamo-chan!" Usagi beamed as she threw herself around his neck.

"Okay, okay, that's enough, I've gotta get some rest! It's been a busy day," Mamoru smiled, while pulling her off of him.

"Well, alright. But don't forget the eyedrops the doctor prescribed! Once in the morning and once at night. Oh, I hope it works," She sighed.

"You and me both, Odango!" He laughed before jumping nimbly out of the car to avoid her flailing fists.

"You baka! Come back here! You know, for being blind, you can movie pretty fast!" she yelled from the car as he disappeared into apartment complex. Fortunately, he had one of those white canes, and she was confidant that he knew his apartment forwards and backwards and could get there with little trouble, even blind. So, she smiled smuggly as she drove off in the beautiful car.

As she was driving, Usagi flipped out her cell phone and called the girls, telling them that they all had to be at the arcade and waiting for her in 30 minutes because they were going for a girls night out.

"Really? You're taking us out for a night on the town!" Makoto had squealed in delight, causing Usagi to have to hold the phone out 3 inches from her ear.

"Awesome! Oh, now I have to decide what color shoes I should wear. And that means I have to change my purse..." Minako babbled on.

"Usagi, are you sure? Would Mamoru be okay with you driving us all over town on a whim?" the ever-practical Ami asked, before agreeing.

"Sweet! What kind of car is it?" Hoshi asked.

"What are we gonna do? Are we gonna go to a movie! I love movies! Or we could come over here and watch The Exorcist! I love that movie!" Rei rambled on like that for a few minutes.

When the girls were all finally together, it was a tight squeeze into the little sports car. Hoshi sat propped uncomfortably on Makoto's knees, and Rei was stuffed in the middle while Usagi drove crazily along much to the complaint of Ami.

"Where to, ladies?" Usagi grinned at the faces in the rear-view mirror.

"The mall!"

"The movies!"

"Just keep driving! This thing rides sweet!"

"Let's go out to eat!"

"The park!"

"Well, I can see this is gonna be tough," Usagi sighed.

She held up her fingers, named each one after her friends, and slapped her hand on the dash. Since her ring finger, which had been named after Minako, hurt most, she yelled, "We're going to the mall!" and squealed around the corner.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Ami yelled.

"BWAHAHAHA! NEVER!" Usagi yelled back, her words being whipped from her mouth by the wind.

The others just sat back and tried to enjoy the ride without suffering too much motion sickness.

After a few more heart-stopping turns, they arrived at Minako's shrine, The Mall. This wasn't just any mall. It was a three story, glass-domed, multi-million dollar structure with close to one thousand stores in it. People had gone into the clothing department of one of the larger stores once, and were found two weeks later having survived only by eating the mens slacks, which they consequentally had to pay for. They reportedly enjoyed the polyester blends best.

The girls got out, and after Minako had kissed the building once or ten times, they walked inside and allowed the various sights and smells of The Mall to assault their senses.

"It's like I die and go to heaven everytime I come here," Minako sighed.

"Well, you're far from being an angel, so come on, Mina," Makoto dragged at Minako's sleeve.

"Humph. Fine, let's go to Express! (A/N: Sorry to anyone that's insane and doesn't like that store, or doesn't know what it is, but it happens to be my favorite) They're having a sale on jeans!" and with that, she rushed off into the stylish clothing store and was followed around by the sales ladies who now knew her by name and knew exactly what the limit on her credit card was.

Okay! I finally got that chapter done! It turned out nothing like what I was planning on, but then, they rarely do. I know, it's pretty stupid at the end, but I wanted to lighten the mood. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry for being so slow about updating now, but I'm trying. I'm gonna get slower, too, because I'm gonna be getting a job. Woot! I'm gonna be 16 in 6 days! Okay, well, flames are just as welcome as praise, so long as they're constructive!


	12. The Great Finale

Sorry I haven't written in so long! I'm gonna try to wrap this up in the next chapter or two, because I don't think I can prolong it much more. And it's not fair to you guys if I never update. So I'll try to finish this up fast. Thanks for all the reviews! And Sailor Millennium, I would love to help you if you still want it! If you could send me your email address again, that'd help, though, because I don't think you included the insert your host on it.

Usagi sat down to take a break from all the shopping, here bags of stuff pooled around her feet. Ami was collapsed on the floor near her in a stupor from too much shopping. Rei and Hoshi were passed out somewhere else, and Minako and Makoto were still shopping with about 5 attendants each following them around carrying bags from every store imaginable.

While they waited for Minako and Makoto, Usagi's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Usagi? Get over here quick! Something's happened!" Mamoru's voice sounded panicky.

"What's wrong? Mamoru what's going-" she was cut off by the sound of him hanging up.

"Guys, I have to go. Mamoru just called, and apparently something's happened. I'm really sorry!" Usagi explained while she sprinted out to Mamoru's car.

Upon arriving at his complex, Usagi flew up the stairs, because she thought the elevator was being too slow, and when she entered his rooms, it was completely black.

"Mamoru?" she called, sounding a bit scared, "where are you? This isn't funny!"

She heard a door squeak open, followed by a couple footsteps, which stopped just outside the room she was in. She gave a little squeal and hid behind the couch. The footsteps began again, and came slowly towards her.

Crap! What do I do, what do I do! Usagi's mind was screaming at her. She couldn't run, but she couldn't hide much longer, either. I've gotta do it! I'm not gonna sit here like a coward and let this creep get the best of me, she thought.

Suddenly, she dove out from behind the couch, straight into the face of the mystery person. There was a brief struggle, in which Usagi kicked and bit her attacker, but she was eventually pinned in his strong arms. She continued to struggle, petrified in her fear, until she recognised something. There was a very distinct smell about this man (she could at this point tell that it was a man by his arms and chest muscles). It was that of fresh roses.

"M-Mamo-chan?" she whispered. He merely chuckled.

"Why, you baka!" she screamed, tearing away, "you jerk! Why did you do that? Are you trying to scare me to death? I thought that something terrible had happened to you after that phone call!" she pointed an accusing finger at him, before something occurred to her. "Hey, what was the big emergency, anyway?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Well, I'll tell you, my dear, if you will put that accusing finger away," Mamoru said, grabbing her hand.

"Oh my gosh! How did you find my finger? You're blind! You have ESP, don't you!" Usagi gasped.

"No, no, nothing like that. You remember that medicine the doctor gave me to help my eyesight? Well, it worked faster than anyone would have guessed! I can see better than ever, now," he chuckled, kissing her hand, "and I must say, the view is very much improved."

"Oh, Mamoru, I'm so glad you're eyesight is back!" Usagi said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"Me too. Oh, sorry about the whole scaring you thing. It's just, I hadn't made you mad in a really long time, and I was starting to miss your angry face, Odango," he grinned, and grabbed both of her hands before she could punch him.

"Oh, you're rotten! But I must admit, it felt good to actually bite someone! It made me feel alive like I haven't felt since you lost your eyesight. I know, that sounds weird, but it's true."

"Yeah, I haven't been bitten like that since before I started being nice to you. I think you pierced the skin!" He said, examining his hand.

"Oh, quit being such a baby! Let's go tell the girls the good news!" she giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door.

"Not just yet," he said, pulling her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her, tilted her chin up, and leaned down to kiss her. He slowly brushed his lips against hers, and kissed her with a long, passionate kiss. "I love you, Tsukino Usagi," he whispered into her hair when they finally pulled apart.

Usagi could barely catch her breath. When she heard him utter that last sentiment, though, her heart stopped, and then sped up to double time. "I-I love you, too," she gasped into his chest.

"Now we can go tell the girls," he chuckled. She giggled, and they walked out of the apartment hand in hand. The End!

Okay, I know it was cheesy, but please review. Obviously, I ran out of ideas at the end, and it's pretty weak, I think, but I really just wanted to be done, because I haven't been good about updating. So please, read and review, even if it's a flame. Thanks for all your wonderful support! XOXO-Firnoviel


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